Electrically heated chicken brooder



Aug. 24 1943. KAYSlNG 2,327,800

ELECTRICALLY HEATED CHICKEN BROODER Filed May 4, 1942 fm/evfar Answer L.KAYsms forwey Patented Aug. 24, 1943 ELECTRICALLY HEATED CHICKEN BROODERAlbert L. Kaysing, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to J. A. Smith Company, St.Louis, Mo., a partnership composedof Albert L. Kaysing, T. D. Shaffer,and S. B. Margulis Application May 4, 1942, Serial No. 441,639

3 Claims.

The instant invention .relates to improvements in chicken brooders, andmore particularly to such brooders that are electrically heated so thatsubstantially all parts or the chick-receiving hover are warmed toapproximatel the same temperature.

The invention has among its objects the production of such a device thatwill be easy to build and operate, low in cost, both in the materialsemployed and in the maintenance of the brooder, 1

that may be easily cleaned, neat and attractive in appearance, andotherwise satisfactory and efficient for use wherever deemed applicable.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to so construct thevarious parts of the brooder that it will accommodate the maximum numberof chicks for its size, and wherein the chickreceiving chamber of thesame may be adjusted from time to time during the stay of the chicks inthe chamber, to provide increasing head-room for the growing chicks, andso that substantially none of the heat is dissipated in heating largerspaces than is being used at the immediate time.

An added object of my invention is to provide, in a brooder of the kinddescribed, a compact and serviceable electrical heating unit that isself-contained so as to be easily and readily mounted into thechick-receiving hover for operation of the brooder.

A further object of the invention is so to construct the heating unitthat it may be mounted on the under side of the roof of thechick-receiving hover and may be adjusted from above said roof by simplemanipulation of a screw driver applied to the thermostat controllingsaid heating ter so as to act as an auxiliary deflector to insureheating the far corners of the hover, said plate being mounted to thelower face of the roof of said hover and forming an integral unit of theroof member of the hover and the various heater parts so that all may bemoved truly unitary whenever it is desired to adjust the size of thehead-room of the hover.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown anddescribed, and the uses mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled inthe art to which this invention appertains, as will be apparent from thedisclosures herein iven.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction,arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, as willbe more clearly pointed out in the following specification.

In the drawing, wherein like reference numerals indicate like orcorresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a perspective side view of my improved device, with thefloor of the exercise yard removed; and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the same, as mountedon a table or platform, and showing only the adjacent portion of theexercise yard.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein I have illustrateda, preferred embodiment of my invention, there is shown a brooderadapted to comfortably receive and shelter a number of recently hatchedchicks, and to maintain them sufficiently warmed therein for therequired number of weeks that it will take for them to reach that stageof growth for marketing them or otherwise disposing of them.

A frame consisting of a pair of opposed and spaced end walls l2connected by opposed spaced side walls 33, forms a substantiallyrectangular supporting structure for the remaining parts of the device.At a point somewhere intermediate the length of the device there is amovable end closure in the form of a door or gate 4, to define thelimits of the chick-warming hover.

Although this brooder may be mounted out of doors, or within a room, Ihave preferred to show the same as being in the latter arrangement, andsimilarly the brooder is shown as mounted directly on a platform, tableor other supporting structure, although it may be mounted directlyspaced above any floor, by legs or similar elements.

If desired, a floor-supporting frame 5 may be secured within thebounding walls of the brooder, as by constructing it to come flush withthe bottom edges of the latter as shown, and extending for substantiallythe full length and width of the frame parts I, 2 and 3-3.

In order that the brooder be kept as clean and sanitary as possible, Ihave found that the floors should be removable, and to this end I haveinserted a floor comprising a rectangular frame 6,

of a size to neatly fit within the bottom of the chick-receiving hoveror chamber between the side walls 3-3 and the wall and door 4, and tothe top side of the frame 6 I have provided a covering of suitable meshand strength of wire screening 1.

The exercise yard may be similarly provided with removable floors, byone or more sections of flooring similar to that just described for thehover, the frame portion 8 and screening 9 of such exercise yard floorportions or sections being shown in Fig. 2. I

Obviously, whenever any floor section is desired to be taken up, forcleaning or disinfecting therebelow, it may be removed withoutdimcultysimply by lifting it up. Replacement is just as simple.

A cover member or top I0, fastened to a pair of side walls H! l and endwalls l2-l2 comprise a rectangle of substantially the same size of thefloor section 6', and is preferably detachably mounted on the open topof the chamber therebelow, as with side and end lugs is.

A partition M is inserted to extend substantially horizontally acrossthe receptacle, below said top Hi, this partition thereby being commonto the upper and lower chambers or hovers, i5 and 56 respectively, thusformed, being the floor of the upper hover and the roof of the lowerhover. so as to provide an opening or air passageway ll between the door4 and the adjacent edge-of the partition, andto permit of air'movementbetween the upper and lower hovers therethrough.

Air vents it are provided through said partition, grouped adjacent thefront and the rear edges of the latter, so as to provide slower passageof air between the hovers at said vents. The forward edge of thepartition is provided with an overhanging or downwardly directe'dflan'gel9 therealong so as to direct heated air from the under side of thepartition downwardly into the lower hover. Y

Inasmuch as the chicks remain in the brooder for quitea numberof weeksuntil they are ready to be removed from such shelter, for marketing orother disposition, I have providedcompen- 'satory means to properly keeppace with the varying size of the chicks and-to give them more headroomas they grow bigger. have arranged thepartition [4 to be adjustablyraised from'time to'time, as needed.

To this end, I

A partition-supporting frame 20 is nailed or otherwise fixed to the sidewalls of the hover and may be detached therefrom andmoved to a newposition upwardly of its first position'every few weeks'or so; oradditional frames 2! may be fixed to the s'aidwalls of the hover, spacedat any preferred distance from the lowermostframe '28, so that thepartition may be lifted out and re-set to a higher position with utmostease. In

this manner, there is always presented 'the necessary space andhead-roomfor'the-chicks within the lower hover, and no more space-than 1 actuallyrequired at-a'given stage-of growth of chicks nee'd be heated.

' The 'upperchamb'er l5, andwhat might be termed a pre-heated freshair'inta'ke chamber or l1over,'isprovided with vents "22 through-its Atubular element"23,"open at both'eri'ds and jprevided with aperture Le-through its bounding wall, is supported at about 'the'mi'd-porti'onbfthe lower hover'or' chamber l*6,the lower end of Its length islessthanthat of the hovers static control 26 adjustably regulated at aselected operating temperature by means of the set screw 2! or the like,the electrical conductors to the heater and thermostatic circuit beingindicated in the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

A substantially conical-shaped heat deflector 28 is mounted to be spacedabove the top end of the tube element, as by the brackets 29, saiddeflector having its peripheral edge extending radially beyond the sidewall of the tube, somewhat-as shown. A large metal plate 30 is securedto the deflector 28 and the thermostat may be fixed'to said plate, saidplate extending to nearly adjacent the boundingedges of the under sideof the partition I4. The plate 38 forms a rigid integral unit with thedeflector, tube, heating element, and thermostat, so that all of thesame, together with said partition, may be considered a unit inasmuch athe entire structure is demountable or removable as a unit, to thevarious head-room sizes of the lower hover.

The plate 39 is provided with anopeningtherethrough, and the-adjustingscrew 2'! of the ther m-ostat projects through-said opening. Thepartition i4 is similarly provided with an opening 36 in substantiallyvertical alignment with the opening 35, so as to 'a'ifordaccess to saidscrew from above 'thepartitionmember, aswith ascrew driver or othersuitable'tool.

The heat from the element 25 is directed not only to warm the tube andthe deflector thereabove, but a portion of the heatpasses laterallythrough said tube and from its ends directly, while. the deflectordirects the 'heat impinged thereagainst downwardly and outwardly ontothe backs of the chicks within the hover. The plate 3?] acts as anauxiliary deflector for heat which it receives, and throws the samedownwardly and into the areas adjacent the far corners of said hover.

The portion of the brooder shownto the right of the hovers may be-usedas an exercise yard and for feeding the chicks, the door 1 beingprovided with a hinge 31 for mounting it to the wall 12 of the hovers,and with latch means 31' to cooperate with means 32 on a cross bar 53that extends between the opposed sides 33. Vents 34 may be providedthrough said walls 3-3 just below the uppermost or opened position ofthe door, in order to further insure proper ventilation while the doorismaintained in its open or dotted line position shown. I

Having thus' described -my invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterialmodifications may be made-in the same Without, departing fromthe spirit of my invention; hence I do-not wish to be understood aslimiting myself t'o'the exact arrangement, construction;combination andform shownand described, or'the usesrmentioned, ex

ceptas limited to the claims hereuntc "appended.

'What 'I claim as new and "desireto "secure'by Letters Patent is:

fizontal partition therein. dividing-said housing into'a-n upper andalower chamber; air vents through said partition to permit air passagebetween said chambers; and an electrical heating device fixed to theunder side of said partition to be moved as a unit together therewith,said device comprising a tube, aheating element fixed therein spacedfrom its side wall, a metal plate for attachment to the under side ofsaid partition, and an outwardly flared downwardly directed flangedelement fixed intermediate said plate and tube and spaced above thelatter for directing the rising heat downwardly into the chamber andtoward the lateral walls of the same.

2. In a chick brooder, a housing; a vertically adjustable substantiallyhorizontal partition therein, dividing the housing into an upper and alower chamber; air vents through said partition; and an electricalheating device fixed to the under side of said partition to be moved asa unit together therewith, said device comprisin a tube, a heatingelement therein and spaced from the tube side wall, a heat deflectorsheet at the'under side of said partition, and an outwardly flareddownwardly directed flanged element positioned intermediate said sheetand tube and spaced above the latter for directing the rising heatdownwardly into the chamber and toward the lateral walls of the latter.

3. In a chick brooder, a vertically adjustable substantially horizontalpartition dividing the same into superimposed upper and lower chambersand whereby the height of the lower chamber may be selectively varied;an electrical heating device carried at the under side of said partitionas a unit movable therewith and comprising a tube, a heating elementtherein and spaced from the tube side wall, a heat deflector sheet fixedbetween said partition and tube, and an outwardly flared downwardlydirected flanged element positioned intermediate said sheet and tube andspaced above the latter for directin h eat downwardly into the lowerchamber and toward the side walls of the latter.

ALBERT L. KAYSING.

